Chicago University Bibliographer's tribute to Justice K.T.Telang
Even as the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, that may be
called the home of Justice K.T.Telang’s indological works struggles to keep
pace with the digital revolution, battling funds crunch for digitization of
enormous volumes it possesses, a project to digitize all the published works of
the great scholar was announced yesterday.
Speaking at 23rd
Justice K.T.Telang Memorial Lecture at the Asiatic Society on Thrusday, Dr.James
Nye, Bibliographer for South Asia, Univery of Chicago Library said he and some
of his colleagues would be working in coming weeks to digitize all the
published works of Justice Telang and make them available online.
Heartwarming to hear Dr.Nye
mention the project as a tribute to Justice Telang, whom he compared to the
likes of Hemachandra the 11th century poet, polymath Jain scholar.
A quick search shows
Archive.org has already taken most of Justice Telang’s works digital. Seminal
contribution of Justice Telang includes his translation of Bhagavad Gita with
Anu Gita and Sanatasujatiya for Volume 8 of Max Muller’s ‘Sacred books of the
east’ (1875), translation of Mudrarakshasa (1884), Bhartrhari’s Nitisataka and
Vairagyasataka (1874), Rise of the Maratha power along with M.G.Ranade (1900),
The Institutes of Vishnu (1900), Shankaracharya philosopher and mystic (1911),
Legislative Council speeches (1895), Selected writings and speeches (1895). Last
but not the least as the cliché goes, his rebuttal to Albrecht Weber's theory on Ramayana being a copy of Homer’s Illiad.
The context in which Dr.Nye
was speaking was ‘Integrative Indology: Imagining Justice K.T.
Telang's Scholarship in the 21st Century’ topic of his lecture. Dr.Nye
pointed to Justice Telang’s application of his deep knowledge of Dharmashastras
while dealing with Law as a judge, reflecting on the integrative nature of his
scholarship.
In the short span of his life
Justice Kashinath Triambak Telang (1850-93) had enormous achievements, as
leading legal luminary of 19th century, youngest Vice-Chancellor of
Bombay University, President of Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Unfortunate though, not even
two dozen people in the audience on Thursday for his memorial lecture, and no
claps as Dr.Nye announced his tribute to Justice Telang. It is a reflection of
where Indology studies are in this country and what the city is doing to its
illustrious citizens of the past.
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